Till now no official confirmation from the Amiri court .. Just press reports.

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__________________“God has given me many blessings. But the greatest of all is to be husband to Rania and father to our children Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. They are the lights of my life”.HM King Abdullah II

Till now no official confirmation from the Amiri court .. Just press reports.

The official confirmation is to be announced later this month. Diplomats have been speaking to the press about this and thats where the news came from. Moreover, all media that first posted the news was from trusted and known news agencies that haven't spread gossip in the past.

The official confirmation is to be announced later this month. Diplomats have been speaking to the press about this and thats where the news came from. Moreover, all media that first posted the news was from trusted and known news agencies that haven't spread gossip in the past.

That´s very interesting, I would have expected that the news is released by the Al Thani family officially and not spread through international press.
If there are so many people confirming the story, I would guess that it is true!
How do the people in Qatar think/feel about the transition of power? The Emir seems to be very popular in his country from what I have seen, but of course Sheikh Tamim is also respected and appreciated, I believe he has a similar vision for Qatar like his father.
Hopefully he will be able to invite more freedom of speech and chances for normal Qatar citizens to have a chance to participate in important political decision-making processes.

__________________Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger in the long run is no safer than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure,or nothing. Helen Keller

Is Tamim the guy people were saying was going to get engaged to one of the Jordanian princesses but didnt?

Haha, yes this is the guy
It was purely speculative, he did not get married to the Princess,she married someone else!

__________________Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger in the long run is no safer than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure,or nothing. Helen Keller

This is not an abdication, it's a putsch camouflaged abdication. Like the actual Emir did with his father in vacations then in Switzeland, and took power over Qatar with help of his wife Sheikha Mozah and her father Nasser bin Abdullah Al Missned (died in 2007), who was an opponent of Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdallah Al Thani, father of the current Emir.The family lived in exile in Egypt and Kuwait.

__________________"It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. The short-term happiness and the long term one at the same time, for you and for others will come."Dalaï LAMA

Here is a list of Qatar´s emirs from the past and the current head of state List of emirs of Qatar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , interesting to notice:
Two emirs abdicated and the last two were disposed by close family members. Hamad bin Khalifa disposed his father Khalifa who still lives in exile,while Khalifa took over from his uncle´s son.
I personally believe that if Sheikh Tamim takes over now, the Emir (his father) abdicated for reasons of health, we do not need an expert to notice that Hamad bin Khalifa has weight issues and may have developed other health problems due to his obesity.

__________________Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger in the long run is no safer than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure,or nothing. Helen Keller

__________________“God has given me many blessings. But the greatest of all is to be husband to Rania and father to our children Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. They are the lights of my life”.HM King Abdullah II

__________________“God has given me many blessings. But the greatest of all is to be husband to Rania and father to our children Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. They are the lights of my life”.HM King Abdullah II

Breaking news:
Aljazeera#: The Amir informed his family officially that he is to abdicate & transfer his powers to his son CP Tamim.
Reuters#: The Amir will abdicate tonight.

__________________“God has given me many blessings. But the greatest of all is to be husband to Rania and father to our children Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. They are the lights of my life”.HM King Abdullah II

__________________“God has given me many blessings. But the greatest of all is to be husband to Rania and father to our children Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. They are the lights of my life”.HM King Abdullah II

@zaidbenjamin: #BREAKING: Amir of #Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to speak to his people at 8 am local time 1 am EDT

Qatar's local time = KSA local time (Mecca) = GMT+3 hours.

__________________“God has given me many blessings. But the greatest of all is to be husband to Rania and father to our children Hussein, Iman, Salma and Hashem. They are the lights of my life”.HM King Abdullah II